A small aircraft crashed in the Inland Empire Thursday afternoon, but the pilot sustained only minor injuries.
The pilot, whose identity has not been released, crashed near Auld and Briggs roads in French Valley just after 1 p.m., the Riverside County Fire Department said.
That aerial vehicle “sustained major damage,” but images from the scene show it was not totally destroyed, and there was no post-crash fire. Instead, crews worked to “mitigate a small fuel leak,” a process expected to take four hours, fire officials said.
The pilot, meanwhile, “was assessed and declined further treatment.” No one else was in the aircraft.
The FAA identified the vehicle as a Cavalon gyroplane, which resembles a helicopter but uses an unpowered rotor, and said it crashed near French Valley Airport. The agency is investigating the incident.
